The New Rules for Older Job-Hunters

By Deb Perelman |
Posted 2008-05-30

Do the job-hunting rules change as you get older? Many suggest that they do.

On one hand, the older you are, the longer it can take to get a job. Compared with 18.9 weeks for younger workers, it took workers 55 and older 25.8 weeks on average to find a job in 2004, according to the Census Bureau.

On the other hand, many companies--expressing exasperation with the job-hopping Generation X and Generation Y workers (changing jobs on average every 24 to 26 months)--say they'd rather hire Baby Boomers, for their stability as well as experience.

Experts suggest that older job seekers approach their hunt a bit differently, by knowing what sets them apart in a good way (less hung up on job titles), knowing what to play down (skills on technologies nobody uses anymore, referencing every one of the 20 jobs one has held) and knowing how to adapt to the current market (using social media to make inroads).

Toni Bowers made some additional resume suggestions for experienced job seekers in a post on TechRepublic's IT Leadership blog May 29. Central to her points was the importance of keeping the resume short and tight--something especially challenging for professionals with half a lifetime of experience--by using bullets, not paragraphs, to clean up a cluttered resume; not listing certification exams; and keeping a list of core skills to a minimum. You can see the rest of her tips here.

Has the job-hunting process changed for you as you've gotten older? Are there tips we're leaving out?